Holder for tools



Jan. 3l, 1956 n K s. M. HUMBARGAR 2,733,113

HOLDER `FOR TOOLS, MECHANICAL PARTS, AND THE LIKE Filed Feb. 28, 1952United States Patent' O HOLDER FR TGLS, MECHANICAL PARTS, AN D THE LIKESolomon M. Humbarg'ar, Minneapolis, Minn. Application February 2l?,`1952, Serial No. 274,034

3 Claims. (Cl. S12-251) This invention relates to a holder for articlessuch as tools and more particularly to a compact and portable holderadapted to be placed near the operator for his convenience in selectingtools and parts while working.

it is a principal object of this invention to provide for a simple andconvenient collapsible and portable holder device which will retain avariety of tools within` easy reach and further will hold parts such asnuts, bolts, washers and cotter pins substantially at the level of thesurface upon which the holder is supported.

Another object is to provide for a simple but structurally rigid tooland parts holder in which all of said tools and parts are exposed in aforward upstanding position unattached by physical latching means to anypart of the holder whereby a mechanic may select ata glance any desiredarticle therefrom or may select and replace such articles by manualtouch as where he ist working in a dark place or where he does not wishto remove his eyes from his work.

It is a further object of this invention to provide for an article ofthe class described in which metal articles such as tools may be held atthe paneled outer face thereof and smaller articlessuch as washers andcotter keys may be placed in a convenient tray which is adapted to bepivoted to a closed position cooperating with the paneled outer face ofthe stand and to an open position at the surface upon which the holderstands with means for preventing the spilling or mixing of the smallerarticles in the tray during pivoting of the tray or duringtransportation of the holder.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will more fullyappear from the following description made in connection with theaccompanying drawings wherein like reference characters refer to similarparts throughout the several views and in which:

Fig. l is a perspective View of my holder in open position ready for usewhile standing upon a supporting surface;

Fig. 2 is a side View of the holder in the position shown in Fig. l;

Fig. 3 is a detailed view of the hinge connection in my supportingstructure;

Fig. 4 is a side View of my holder with the pivotal tray moved to upperposition and the legs of the supporting structure in collapsed position;and

Fig. 5 is an enlarged and segmented view of the pivot or hingearrangement of the tray and its lid.

Referring now more particularly to the drawing, my holder is shown inopen position in Fig. l with the tools and mechanical parts disposed ina forward position for easy selection. The supporting structureindicated generally at S comprises a double framework constructed oflight material such as steel wire. The forward wire frame is formed inan inverted U-shape with upstanding legs interconnected with ahorizontal portion 11. Hingedly attached at the upper horizontal portion11 are legs 12, which may be braced as by cross member 13. The feet ofthe legs 10 and 12 may be enlarged and encompass the horizontal portion11 of the U-shaped t frame.

Attached to the U-shaped frame comprising legs 10 and cross member 11 isan article holding assembly H one part of which is panel 15 which may beformed of such` suitable material as sheet steel. The outer peripheralmargins of the panel 15 are formed over the U-shape'd frame as shown inFig. 1 and are preferably recessed along the marginal connections sothat the plane of the panel 15 will lie substantially below thefo1wardmost edges of the U-shaped framework. Corners 16 are deleted fromthe panel structure so as to allow free hinge movement of legs 12attheir hinge connection with the framework lll-41. Another crossv brace1'7 is allixedto the legs 16 in parallel relation to the cross member 11at the top of the framework. Tab portions of the` panel 15 may be formedover cross wire 17 at spaced intervals as at 13 so as to increase therigidity of the entire panel and framework arrangement.. The otherportion of the article holding assembly H is movable compartmented tray19, This tray may be semi-cylindrical in shapeand may have a pluralityof dividers 2i) to form compartments of various sizes for retainingsmallarticles therein. The cross brace 17 is placed in such position withrespect to the dimensions of the tray 19 that the tray willl rest upont'ne supporting surface such as a floor when the holder is in operatingposition as viewed in Fig.. 2. The inner surface of the compartmentedtray is thus exposed in a forwardly facing direction with a smallportion of its curved shell 21 extending forwardly of the contactposition 22 with supporting surface. A latch device 23 is aiixed to theleading edge of tray 19 so as tocooperate with lid 24 which is likewisehinged to cross brace 17 as by tabs Z5. When in normal operatingposition as in Figs. l and 2 the lid 24 is releasably'retained by latchmeans at 26 attached to the face of panel 15. The lid 24 may thus bepivoted to its retained position against the panel 15 or may bepivotally urged in the direction of the arrow in Fig. 2 so as to engagelatch 23 and be'- come secured to the open portion of tray 19 so as toprevent spilling or mixing of the small articles retained within thetray. With the lid 24 secured to the tray 19 the entire enclosed tray 19may now be again pivoted upwardly and retained in closely cooperatingposition with the panel 15 releasably secured by the same latch members26 which first held the lid 24 alone. Tray 19 is hinged to brace 17 bytabs 19a.

Means for releasably retaining tools in a forward position is suppliedat the face of panel 15 and may constitute magnetic bars 27, 28 and 29.For large tools such as wrench 30 the natural dimensions of such toolswill render it large enough to extend across the two magnetic bars 27and 2S, thus being firmly gripped by the magnetic forces of both bars.Smaller tools such as the small wrench 31 will be adequately supportedby the magnetic force of one of the bars 27. The magnetic bar 29 may beemployed for other small tools such as the socket portions of a socketwrench set and will be disposed for easy removal and replacement. Anotched out portion 32 in the panel 15 exposes the cross member 11 whichthus becomes a handle for carrying the holder at that point. A flexibleretaining member such as chain 33 extends across from the back side ofpanel 15 to the cross member 13 for limiting the spread of legs 12 fromlegs 10.

I prefer not to rely upon magnetic holding means where very small itemssuch as washers and cotter keys are concerned. It is a well knownphenomenon that Patented Jan. 31, e

such items, when in a magnetic field, will cluster in a group andremoval of one may separate several of such items. The forward face ofthe curved bottom 21 in tray 19 becomes the handiest and simplest meansof presenting small articles for the mechanics use while he is working.My holder is especially adaptable for disposition close to the person ofa mechanic while working in awkward positions or under adversecircumstances upon a piece of mechanical equipment. Thus when working onthe underside of an automobile my holder becomes a means of renderingassistance to the mechanic in retaining in a handy position all thetools which he may require and may furnish means for holding andselecting parts which he may remove from the equipment he is working on.Tools may be selected by manually touching and feeling and may bereplaced upon any portion of the magnetic bars 27 and 28 without regardto their specific orientation. My holder is designed to maintain thetools and mechanical parts in as close proximity to the supportingsurface as is practical while still maintaining them in an uprightposition for efficient handling. The magnetic bars 27, 28 and 29 may beformed of small segments of magnet bars, having a plurality of north andsouth poles or may constitute one single magnetic bar with but one northand south pole at each end. I prefer the former arrangement since, inthe latter instance, there will be a neutral Zone intermediate the endswhich will be ineffectual to magnetically retain the articles.

It will, of course, be understood that various changes may be made inthe form, details, arrangement and proportions of the parts withoutdeparting from the scope of my invention.

What I claim is:

l. A holder for articles such as tools and mechanical parts whichcomprises a supporting structure for standing upon a supporting surface,a panel member rigidly mounted in upstanding position upon saidsupporting structure, magnetic means at the surface of said panel forretaining metal articles thereupon in a forward position, a swingabletray mounted at the lower part of said panel and adapted to lie inforwardly facing and easily accessible open position in proximity tosaid supporting surface and to lie over against a portion of said panelin closed position, and lid means for retaining articles within saidtray against displacement therefrom while swinging said tray from itsposition in proximity to the supporting surface to its closed positionagainst said portion of the panel.

2. A holder for articles such as tools and mechanical parts comprisingin combination an upstanding panel,

.means upon the surface of the panel for holding tools in readilyremovable position, a supporting structure for positioning said panel inproximity to a surface such as a oor, an elongated compartmented trayhorizontally hinged adjacent the bottom of said panel and swingabledownwardly therefrom to contact at its bottom a surface upon which theholder is positioned, a tray cover removably positioned ovcr said trayfor maintaining mechanical parts within the compartments of the tray,and latch means for holding said tray cover and tray upwardly againstsaid panel whereby the entire tray, together with articles heldtherewithin, may be positioned securely against the face of said paneland alternatively swung downwardly to present the tray compartments in aforward and open position adjacent the supporting surface for convenientand ready accessibility to both tools and parts.

3. A holder for articles such as tools and mechanical parts comprising asupporting structure having lower members for positioning on asupporting surface, a panel for retaining tools and parts secured tosaid supporting structure in upward upstanding relation thereto, anelongated and generally horizontal tray for also retaining tools andparts swingably mounted on said supporting structure, said tray beingmovable from an upward and closed position against said panel to an openand forwardly facing position resting upon a supporting surface, wherebyan operator in close proximity to said supporting surface will haveready and convenient access to tools and parts.

References Cited inthe le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 361,248Winton Apr. 12, 1887 507,233 Marshall Oct. 24, 1893 887,152 TimberlakeMay l2, 1908 1,235,521 Koenig July 31, 1917 2,211,660 Kidd Aug. 13, 1940FOREIGN PATENTS 23,360 Great Britain 1893

